Pages

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Target Doesn't Care About The LGBT Community

Target's CEO Gregg Steinhafel defended the company's political donations to a Minnesota group helping the state’s Republican candidate, Tom Emmer's, gubernatorial run, telling employees at its Minneapolis headquarters that the company’s support of the gay community is “unwavering.”

Unwavering, though they give money to homophobes and bigots who give money to "Christian" rock groups that believe it's moral to Kill The Gays [story HERE]

Gregg Steinhafel said, via email: “We rarely endorse all advocated positions of the organizations or candidates we support, and we do not have a political or social agenda.....Let me be very clear, Target’s support of the GLBT community is unwavering, and inclusiveness remains a core value of our company.”

Nice spin. What it says is that they give money to campaigns and causes without really knowing what the campaigns and causes stand for, and if they subsequently find out that the campaigns and causes are anti-gay, well,, yeah, too bad.

I believe the LGBT community should show it's unwavering support for all retailers that are Not Target. You cannot say you support the LGBT community and then give money to a bigot like Emmer because, then it seems, the campaign contribution was given to help Target and screw the LGBT community.

Here's a few facts on Tom Emmer, the man Target funded, but says they don't "endorse all advocated positions" of his:

Emmer is a conservative.

Emmer applauds Arizona’s strict approach to illegal immigration

Emmer once advocated chemical castration for sex offenders

Emmer's candidacy contrasts sharply with Target’s moderate image, where the company is known for donating to public school programs, food pantries and the annual Twin Cities Gay Pride Festival. And to bigots.

But Target was able to donate to Minnesota Forward--the PAC that donated to Emmer--under new laws allowing corporations to spend company money on election campaigns so that we can become the United States Of Target. Corporate donations have been flowing since the Supreme Court threw out parts of a 63-year-old law that prohibited companies and unions from donating to campaigns for or against candidates.

In Minnesota, where Target has its headquarters, Democrats are grumbling about the large donation, and some are talking about striking back at the popular brand. A few have even called for a boycott in the state, one of Target’s top three for sales. One Democratic-backed group is reaching out to Target employees through Facebook ads urging them to sign a petition opposing the donations.

In the end, Target says one thing and does another because it comes down to money, and doing what's best for Target, not its employees, customers, or the LGBT community. Lena Michaud, a Target spokeswoman said the company supports causes and candidates “based strictly on issues that affect our retail and business objectives.”